


Know No Better

by dumpsterdiva



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 22:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumpsterdiva/pseuds/dumpsterdiva
Summary: What do you do when you pick your rival in Secret Santa?Obviously, embark on a stealth mission to find out his interests and get him the best possible present and prove to him that you're better once and for all.What could go wrong?





	Know No Better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [History_Nerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/History_Nerd/gifts).



> HAPPY HONDA DAYS TO MY KLANCE GIFT EXCHANGE PARTNER @history-nerd-elijah.
> 
> You said you loved touch-starved and shy Keith and bubbly but insecure Lance WHO ARE HISTORY MAJORS. So I delivered!! So glad to meet another history major out there in the world. It's a tough road ahead of you but I loved it. Boring lecturers be damned!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story of the two stupidest and cheesiest boys in the whole world. I'm serious, as I was writing this I was yelling at myself WHY ARE THEY SO STUPID?! AND I WROTE THEM LIKE THIS. You're in for a wild ride (I hope).

Of all the people, it had to be Keith.

Taking another look at the crumpled paper in his hand, Lance scowled before shoving it into his pocket.

He’d been hoping to get Allura, sweet, beautiful Allura who smelled like cinnamon, but truthfully he would’ve been fine with anyone.

Anyone, except Keith.

* * *

“Settle down everyone!”

The chatter echoing through the room died down as everyone turned to look at the broad-shouldered man towering over them in the middle of their makeshift circle.

Resting his hands on his hips, Shiro smiled in approval and the newfound silence. “Now that we’re all here, we can finally get started on our dorm’s annual tradition. Secret Santa!”

A hand shot up in the circle and the man gestured for the small girl to speak. “Yes, Pidge?”

Pushing up her glasses, she asked, “What if we’re Jewish? I thought this was an inclusive space, Shiro.”

Shiro winced. “Well… it’s our annual gift exchange then.”

Pidge nodded with satisfaction. “Cool. So how are we picking our Secret Santa?”

“You—I thought…” He sighed. “Take a scrap of paper out of the bowl that’s being passed around. Write your name and a short wishlist on it. Keep it within the budget limit, _Lance_ ,” he said pointedly, shooting a glare at a lanky boy stretched out on the carpet. At the sound of his name, he glanced up from his paper and shot Shiro a grin, white teeth stark against his brown skin.

“Oh please, a $25 budget? In this economy? You’re killing me, Shiro.”

“The limit is the limit.”

“Actually, the limit does not exist,” piped in a large boy to the left of Lance.

Lance elbowed him. “Stop quoting _Mean Girls_ , Hunk. It’s unprofessional.”

“Your face is unprofessional. And you love _Mean Girls_.”

“Boys,” Shiro said in a strained voice. “Please, just take a piece of paper.”

Lance and Hunk shared a glance before shrugging and doing as they were told. It didn’t stop Lance, however, from whispering to Hunk, “What are you wishing for?”

“Maybe some beakers. Or a new apron. Ooh, do you think someone will get me a wrench?!”

Lance narrowed his eyes and sighed. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked you.”

“Well, what are you writing down then?”

“I really want Super Mario Odyssey.” Hunk shot him an exasperated look. “But I guess I’ll settle for those wheel add-ons for the controllers for Mario Kart. Makes it feel more realistic.”

Hunk smirked. “Those aren’t going to help you beat Pidge. Nothing will.”

“You don’t know that,” Lance said with a huff. “Maybe I’ll ask for a black charcoal face mask too. I kind of also want a new snapback. Or some cute earrings!” He gasped. “A choker.”

“Alright calm down, Dudley. You’re running out of space.”

Lowering his voice, Lance mumbled, “But you know what I really want?” Hunk shrugged. “To get Allura as my giftee. Or better yet, my gifter.” He nodded his head towards the girl in a sweater dress sitting on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her. She pursed her lips as she stared at her list and Lance sighed audibly.

Hunk grimaced. “Snap out of it, Romeo. What do you think is gonna happen? She’ll open your gift and say,” He coughed and whispered in a high-pitched British accent, “‘Oh Lance, how did you know I always wanted nunchucks? My heart is all atwitter.’”

Lance was about to retort when Shiro suddenly said, “Keith, you can’t wish for weapons. Write another one.”

Immediately, Lance whipped his head around at Keith who was lounging in an armchair with his arms folded across his chest.

“Why not?”

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose while he handed Keith back his paper. “Because I’m your RA and because I said so. I’m not letting you all buy each other _knives_.”

Lance stifled a snort, but apparently not well enough because Keith shot him a glare.

Just as Lance was about to flip Keith off, Shiro clapped his hands again. “Alright, hurry it up. We still have to draw names.” Turning to the pale boy in a beanie lounging on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, he said with a touch of sarcasm, “Matt, mind doing some RA duties?”

At the sound of his name, Matt saluted and said with a mouthful of popcorn, “Yessir.” Wiping his hands on his pants, he started collecting the scraps of paper from everyone, giving them a once-over before handing them to Shiro.

When he finished collecting the papers, Shiro swirled them around and said with a grin, “Alright, so who’s first?”

In the blink of an eye, Pidge’s hand shot up and, with a chuckle, Shiro obliged her before making his way around the circle.

And when Shiro finally stood in front of him, there was only one thought going through Lance’s mind as he picked and read his slip of paper.

Of fucking course.

* * *

Back in their room, Lance brushed past Hunk and landed, face first, in his bed with a groan.

Hunk spared a glance at his roommate before sighing as he sat down at his desk. “It’s not the end of the world.”

Voice muffled from the blankets, Lance whined, “You don’t understand. This is a fate worse than death.”

“You’re being dramatic, as per usual.”

“No, this is my reality, Hunk.” He flipped over and threw his hands in the air. “Why did it have to be Mr. Perfect? The stuck-up, straight-A little punk. Iverson was all over his essay on ‘the economic impact of the divide between West and East Germany,’” he said with mock reverence.

Hunk rolled his eyes. “Oh please. You’ve barely spoken a word to the guy, even though you’re the same major and we live in the same dorm. How do you know he’s so terrible, hm? You don’t even know him.”

“I know enough to know that I don’t want to know him.”

“Fine then. Be stubborn. You don’t have to know him. Just look at his wish list and get it over with.”

Jumping off the bed, Lance cried, “I _can’t_ do that Hunk. You know why?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’ll tell me.”

“Because the only thing he wrote on his goddamn wish list was,” Lance thrust the piece of paper in Hunk’s face. “ _Hippos_!”

Hunk blinked twice and then chuckled. “He likes hippos? That’s kind of cute.”

Lance made a frustrated noise. “No, Hunk, you uncultured swine.”

“Hey!”

“No offense.”

“I’m still offended!”

Rolling his eyes, Lance continued, “The point is that Keith doesn’t like hippos, he just likes being an ass.”

“I’m not following.”

“He’s quoting a song.” Hunk gave him a blank stare. “You know that song that goes, ‘I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do!’” Lance sang in a shaky falsetto.

Hunk snorted. “You’re making this up.”

“I am not!” Whipping his phone out of his pocket, Lance grumbled, “Here, I’ll play it for you.”

After a few seconds of searching, he pressed play and Gayla Peevey’s warbly voice began to echo throughout the room.

 _I want a hippopotamus for Christmas_  
_Only a hippopotamus will do_  
_Don't want a doll, no dinkey tinker toy_ _  
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy_

Jaw slackening, Hunk whispered, “Oh my god. This is real.”

“I told you so.”

Hunk’s eyes slid over to meet Lance’s. “Okay, but regardless of what your petty ass thinks, Keith’s not a bad guy. He wouldn’t pull a move like this.”

“Sure, let’s say for argument’s sake that in this universe Keith isn’t a huge teacher’s pet and a pretentious asshole. But is it also possible that after Shiro told him ‘no weapons’ that the first and _only_ thing that comes to his mind is hippos?! You’re telling me pretty boy Keith has no other interests besides weaponry and hippos. Really?!”

Hunk winced. “Okay, that is a little weird.”

“See!”

“But I still don’t think he’d do something like that.”

Lance scoffed. “Oh yes he would and I have the proof right here. But I’m not going to let that stop me, Hunk.”

Hunk scrunched up his nose. “Huh?”

With a triumphant smirk, Lance explained, “Well, obviously Keith wants to throw off his Secret Santa so he can keep being cool and mysterious and emo. He just wants to make it hard for his gifter. You know, prove that no one really knows him that well. He’s probably laughing about how stupid his gifter must feel with this joke of a wishlist at this very moment.”

“Uh-huh…”

“But I can’t let him win! No way. Lancey Lance isn’t going down without a fight. I’m going to figure out what this mullethead actually likes and then surprise him the best gift ever so he can’t say shit. Who’ll have the last laugh then, hm?”

Struggling to hide his amusement, Hunk said, “Oh yeah, that’ll show him.” He coughed. “So, uh, how exactly are you going to do that?”

Lance stretched his arms over his head and grinned. “Oh, you’ll see.”

* * *

Iverson’s lectures were always painfully boring, but today was even more agonizing than usual. As his professor continued to ramble on about Churchill, Lance’s eyes flitted up towards the clock. He stifled a groan.

Only three minutes had passed since he’d last checked. He resisted the urge to stab his eyeballs out with the pen he was twirling in his hand. How could one man manage to make one of the most interesting points in human history blander than a jar of mayonnaise?

Eventually, his gaze was drawn to Keith who was sitting in the third row, very obviously doodling in his notebook instead of taking notes.

A bubble of irritation rose in Lance’s stomach. It would be one thing if Keith paid attention during lecture, but he seemed to care less about class than even Lance. And yet…

The sudden squeaking of chairs and zipping of bags alerted him to the end of the lecture. Watching as Keith gathered his things to leave, Lance sucked in a deep breath and squashed down the last of his pride.

Trailing after Keith as they exited the hall, Lance hastened his steps until he was able to tap Keith on the shoulder.

Pulling away sharply, Keith seemed just as startled as Lance when they made eye contact.

“Hey,” Lance muttered, bringing his hand back to his side.

Raising an eyebrow, Keith repeated back, “Hey.”

“Are… Do you have another class?”

Keith did a double-take then. “Huh?”

“Are you free right now?”

It took Keith a few more seconds to process what Lance was saying but eventually, he admitted, “No. I’m free.”

“Want to stop by the cafe? You know, to warm ourselves up a bit.”

Suspicion clearly written all over his face, Keith furrowed his brow. “Uh, sure?”

“Cool.”

As they walked in complete silence, Lance watched Keith out of the corner of his eye. He seemed to want to say something, mouth opening and closing like a fish, but ultimately decided against it.

 _Good_ , Lance thought. _Squirm more, you prick._

Suddenly, Keith looked up and asked, “Did you need something?”

Despite his ulterior motives, Lance still found himself taking offense to the question. “What?! No, I don't _need_ anything. I just wanted to hang out. We haven’t had many chances to do that even though we’re in the same major and all.”

“Oh,” Keith said before retreating back into silence. From his peripherals, Lance could’ve sworn he saw a tiny smile flash across Keith’s face, but when he turned to look, Keith’s stoic face was the same as ever.

Stepping into the cafe, Lance asked, “What do you want to drink? Coffee?”

“Huh, what? Uh… no, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Really?” Lance asked, incredulous. “Why not?”

Keith shrugged. “It’s bitter.”

“So what do you drink then?”

“Hot chocolate.”

Lance snorted. “What are you serious?”

Frowning, Keith protested, “What’s wrong with hot chocolate?”

Hiding his laughter behind his hand, Lance said, “Nothing. It’s just… unexpected.”

“Why?”

“Dunno. You seem like the strong black coffee type.”

Keith pursed his lips. “What about me made you think that?”

Blinking a few times, Lance thought about it for a moment. “I… I’m not sure.”

“Well, which type are you then?”

“Huh?”

“Your drink of choice. What is it?”

Lance considered for a moment before asking, “What do you think?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Keith grumbled.

“Guess.”

“That’s a waste of time. Just tell me.”

With a sigh, Lance whined, “You’re no fun.” Seeing the Keith wouldn’t budge, he conceded, “I’m more of a tea person, actually.”

Keith stared up at Lance. “Really?”

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised.”

“Sorry, I just thought…”

“Ooh, so you _did_ have a thought,” Lance teased. “And you were trying to play it off by saying you had no idea. So what did you think?”

Burrowing his head into his shoulders, Keith mumbled, “You seem like the vanilla frap in the winter type of guy.”

Unable to hide his disbelief, Lance cried, “What?! You really think I’m _that_ basic?”

“I didn’t say that! You just seem like you have a sweet tooth.”

Lance grimaced. “Ugh, no way. I mean, I like some sweet food but those things are nasty. I can feel the sugar coating my teeth.”

“You’re exaggerating. They’re not that bad.”

Pausing, Lance looked down at Keith and gaped. “Wait, do _you_ like those things?”

“Only in the summer,” Keith grumbled. “They’re refreshing.”

“Oh my god, you do! I can’t belie--”

“Ahem.”

Both boys glanced up to see the barista staring at them with some impatience.

“Are you going to order anything or are you just going to stand there all day?”

A bit sheepish, Lance walked up to the counter. “Right. So uh, one London Fog for me and one zebra hot chocolate for my friend, please.”

Practically running up to the counter, Keith cried, “A what?!”

Pushing Keith’s face away, Lance repeated, “A zebra hot chocolate. You’re going to love it.”

Unconvinced, Keith folded his arms. “How can you be so sure?”

“Trust me.”

* * *

As Keith took another hearty sip of his hot chocolate, Lance flashed a triumphant smile.

“Told you so.”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Keith rolled his eyes. “Okay, you win. This is pretty damn good.”

“Yeah, my niece and nephew love it, too.” His smile grew wider. “They’re six and eight.”

Keith’s cheeks turned a rosy pink. “You calling me a kid?”

“You said it, not me.”

“You were implying it.”

“Maybe so.” Lance stirred his tea for a moment, mulling over what to say next. So far this was going better than anticipated, but talking about coffee in a coffee shop was one thing. Getting Keith to open up about his interests without him getting suspicious was another thing entirely.

“So…” Lance finally said. “You’re pretty smart, huh?”

Keith choked a bit on his drink. “What makes you say that?”

“Uh, that fawning look Iverson gives you whenever he hands back essays. You’re top of the class.”

Shooting Lance a wry look, Keith joked, “Yeah, I better be since this is my second go of it.”

Lance’s hand froze in the middle of his stirring and his eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“This is my second attempt at college, so I’ve done most of the intro stuff before.” Keith looked at him inquisitively. “You didn’t know?”

“I… Didn’t you get any credits from your last school? Why do you have to take the classes again?”

“You don’t get anything if you drop out right before the end of the semester.” Seeing the concern on Lance’s face, Keith managed a small smile. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I have no problem talking about it.”

They were silent for a short while, before Lance bit the bullet. “Is it rude if I ask you why you dropped out?”

“No, it’s not.”

Lance shook his head. “No, it totally is. We don’t have to talk about this. I’m sorry for asking.”

Straightening up in his seat, Keith said, “No, Lance. It’s fine. I’m--”

Whatever Keith was about to say next was cut off by a sharp vibration from his phone.

Glancing down at the phone, Keith rubbed his hand over his face. “Shit, I completely forgot I have a group project meeting to get to. Sorry about that.”

Startled at the twinge of disappointment in his chest, Lance hastily replied, “It’s fine. I asked you to hang out with me out of the blue anyways.”

Keith rummaged through his pockets. “I should pay you back for the drink.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

“You can get it next time. How’s that?”

Keith stared at Lance for a few seconds before smiling softly. “Yeah, next time.”

And with that, he ran out the door, leaving Lance in a daze, wondering how he had let nearly an entire semester pass before seeing Keith’s smile.

* * *

“Keith, wait up!”

At the sound of his name, the other boy turned around and waved at Lance.

“Hey.”

Jogging lightly, Lance fell into step next to Keith. “Where you headed next?”

“Intro to Africana Studies. You?”

“Modern Day Trade: Colonization or Globalization?”

“Huh, that sounds like a cool class.”

“Yeah, it’s the best one I have this semester.”

“Nice, maybe I’ll take it next semester.”

Lance beamed. “You should. I’ll lend you my notes, too.”

“You sure you take good notes though?” Keith said with a grin. “I see you nodding off in Iverson’s class.”

“Okay, you and I both know that that class is hell.”

Keith snorted. “You got that right.” He pointed down the hall. “Well, I’m this way. So I’ll see you later?”

With a small wave, Lance said, “Yeah. See ya.” As he was about to turn away, he paused and called after Keith. “Wanna get lunch later?”

Keith turned on his heel and shrugged. “Sure. 12:30 okay with you?”

Hoping his excitement wasn’t too obvious, Lance said as coolly as he could, “Yeah, that’s perfect.” And with that, he took off down the hall.

And as he walked down the hallway, Lance tried to convince himself that he didn’t have an extra bounce in his step all the way to class.

* * *

“Lance, over here!”

Turning to see Keith at a small table in the corner of the dining hall, Lance ambled over.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“That’s all you’re eating for lunch?” Lance asked, pointing to the pile of chicken tenders on Keith’s plate.

“Maybe.”

“Gross. Get some vegetables in you, man.”

Keith rolled his eyes as he bit into a tender. “You’re not my mom.”

“I don’t have to be your mom to tell you that’s gross.”

“Let me live my life, Lance. And I won’t give you shit about your beverage choice.”

“What’s wrong with milk!”

Keith grinned as he took another bite. “And you were calling me childish. Are you five?”

“I like to get my calcium in.”

“Sure.”

The conversation died down and Lance jiggled his leg a few times before asking, “Got any plans this weekend?”

“Nah.”

“Oh.”

More silence before Keith got the hint. “You?”

“Dunno. Hunk and I will probably have a movie marathon.”

Keith seemed to brighten at that. “Really? What are you going to watch?”

“All the _Jaws_ movies.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “All of _Jaws_? I thought only the first one was good and the rest was garbage.”

Lance put a hand to his chest. “Excuse me, they are all masterpieces. I never knew true joy until I saw _Jaws 3D_.” He snapped his fingers. “You should join us. I’ll show you what I mean.”

“What? No way. I’m not watching something shitty on purpose.”

“Oh, c’mon. That’s like half the fun. One: cool sharks. Two: Horrible CGI. It’s a guaranteed good time.”

Keith shook his head. “You really want me to come over and watch one of the shittiest movies of all time?”

“Okay, yes it’s shitty but you haven’t seen it before so you don’t know how _amazingly_ shitty it is.”

Keith snorted. “Oh yeah, real convincing.”

Lance spread out his arms. “Trust me on this, mullet. _Jaws 3D_ is the greatest movie of all time. It’ll break that stupid poker face of yours and you’ll be laughing so hard, you’ll be in stitches.”

“First of all, rude.”

“And I can provide the whole cinematic experience. Movie theater style popcorn with extra butter. It’s Orville, of course.”

“Of course,” Keith said with a smile.

“And hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows. I make it on the stove, by the way. None of this microwave stuff.”

“You’re really selling this, aren’t you?”

“What, I thought you liked hot chocolate?”

“I do, but I won't be bribed with it.”

Lance was pouting now. “Really? A gift to cinema, popcorn, hot chocolate, and me aren’t enough to sell you on this?”

After a second, Keith sighed. “Fine. But not this weekend.”

“You said you weren’t doing anything!”

“Because finals are coming up, dumbass. I have to study.”

“Oh. Right…”

Leaning back in his chair, Keith teased, “What, need a study buddy?”

“No… Maybe.”

“I’ll consider it if you beg.”

“Put a sock in it, asshole.”

Glancing at the clock, Keith gathered up his dishes. “Okay, your loss. But you do know that I’ve taken a class just like Iverson’s before, right?”

It took less than a minute for Lance to trot after Keith with a winning smile. “Keith, my man. How about we have ourselves a study party?”

* * *

“Stop whistling like that. You’re grossing me out.”

Lance paused and turned to Hunk. “Was I whistling?”

“Yes. You’ve been doing it a lot lately and it’s getting on my nerves.”

“Sorry.”

Hunk ran a hand over his face. “No, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s not that bad. I’m glad you’re having fun, but you’re basically exuding bliss out of every pore.”

“I am not!”

With a quizzical look, Hunk said, “Yes, you are. Haven’t you noticed? Ever since you’ve been getting chummy with Keith, your head’s been in the clouds. You’re studying with him all the time and hanging out with him after class.” Hunk pouted. “What about me?”

Draping himself over Hunk, Lance cried, “No, you’re still my best friend. I just need to find out what Keith wants for Secret Santa.”

“By waving at him every time you see him out on the quad?”

“I do not do that _every_ time.”

“Sometimes I swear you’re looking for him out there.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Hunk,” Lance whined. “It’s just for the sake of the mission.”

Hunk pushed Lance’s face away. “Okay, now you’re just lying to yourself. Go sit in your corner and think about this for a while.”

“Hunk…”

“And yes, I still love you. I’m not actually mad,” he said as he turned around in his chair. “But you’re being dumber than a box of rocks right now.”

“Hey!”

“And that’s the gospel truth.”

Defeated, Lance sat at his desk and tapped his pen against the paper. Sure, Keith wasn’t as bad as Lance thought, but it wasn’t like they were really friends. Despite what Hunk said, he was always the one inviting Keith to do things and Keith just accepted them without really much thought. And he never seemed that excited about it. As if it didn’t matter either way.

Maybe... Maybe Keith just didn’t know how to turn him down.

Lance leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. After the semester was over and they gave their gifts, that would be the end. They wouldn’t have a reason to talk over winter break and when they came back, they might not have any classes together. They’d drift apart naturally and Keith would go back to being the cool loner he was before Lance started approaching him.

And Lance was perfectly fine with that.

* * *

“Quiznack,” Lance mumbled under his breath as he felt around his pockets.

“Quiznack,” he said again, looking up at the sky as if his key would magically fall down from the heavens. He briefly considered calling Hunk before realizing he had physics lab. He probably wouldn’t be out for at least another hour.

With a sigh, Lance turned towards the library. Maybe he could take a short nap on one of the couches before one of the librarians kicked him out.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hardly noticed when he rounded the corner and ran smack into Keith.

“Oof!”

Lance blinked and then looked down to see Keith sprawled on the floor.

Scrambling to help him up, Lance stammered, “Oh, quiznack. Sorry, Keith. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Dusting himself off, Keith grinned. “Obviously not, birdbrain. Where are you going so deep in thought?”

Reminded of his plight, Lance sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in the past five minutes. “I locked myself out of my room.”

Keith grimaced. “Yikes.” He bounced on his toes for a few seconds before biting his lip. “Wanna crash at my place until Hunk comes to save you?”

“Seriously?”

Keith shrugged. “Well, yeah. I can’t just leave you out here to suffer.”

“No, but…” Lance almost said, _“But we aren’t even friends,”_ before pressing his lips together. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I still owe you that drink after all.” Lance felt everything in him deflate as Keith nodded towards the end of the hall. “Let’s go.”

Shaking his head, Lance followed after Keith until they reached the last door.

"This is me."

The first thing Lance noticed when he walked into the room was the lack of a second bed.

“You don’t have a roommate?!” Lance cried. “How’d you manage that?”

Keith put his bag down on his chair before swinging onto his bed, stretching out like a cat. “Oh, yeah. I dunno the school was pretty weird about having not-so-fresh freshman interacting with the actual babies such as yourself.” Lance shot Keith a dirty look. “I’m serious. They were all like ‘To preserve the authentic college experience,’ whatever the hell that means. So they exile people like me to singles.”

“It’s not exile! You get a _single_.”

“Yeah, and no friends,” Keith joked, but Lance could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

Lance tried to imagine what college would’ve been like if he hadn’t been assigned to live with Hunk. Who would’ve helped him get over his initial homesickness? Who would’ve brought him back food when he was sick? And who would’ve helped Hunk when he was so nervous for his first test that he barfed?

But here was Keith, forced to fumble his way through college for the second time, alone. Maybe he did want friends. Maybe…

Lance’s thoughts must’ve shown on his face because Keith threw a pillow at him. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I’m completely friendless. Shiro’s here.”

Lance squeezed the pillow in his hands. “Oh, yeah. He’s your cousin, right? He’s so awesome.”

“Yeah, he is. He still kind of treats me like a kid though so it’s hard to hang out with him and his friends sometimes.”

Lance frowned. “You _just_ said that you have him so it’s not like you have no friends. Make up your mind.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith threw another pillow at Lance. “Both are true. I’m not alone but I don’t really feel like I belong either. I can’t just force my cousin’s friends to be friends with me. That’s kind of lame, right?”

“A little.” Another pillow hit Lance square in the face. “Stop that!”

Keith laughed and rolled off his bed. “Take a seat. I’ll make us some tea. Do you like green?”

Plopping down on the beanbag in the corner, Lance grunted an affirmative.

Now that he was sitting down, Lance could see his surroundings better. Keith’s room was pretty bare. A neat desk. A slightly messy bed. A small fridge and microwave. A singular beanbag for any guests. The bare necessities.

As he settled into his seat, something caught his eye on the windowsill above him. He squinted before getting up so he could get a better look.

His jaw dropped as he picked up one of the little figurines that were neatly lined by the window. Turning it over his hand and bringing it up to eye level, Lance could see the intricate details of this tiny lion. The powerful claws, the sharp teeth, the wild mane. It was so realistic that Lance wouldn’t have been surprised if it came to life right there and then.

And all of them were like that. Lance could see a giraffe, a penguin, a gorilla, a fish… And each was as lifelike as the lion.

He was so engrossed in the miniature zoo in front of him that he jumped a few inches in the air when Keith appeared behind him and said, “Enjoying yourself?”

Whirling around, Lance screeched, “Jesus, Keith. You scared the shit out of me.”

Keith chuckled. “Sorry about that. Tea?”

Lance gratefully took the mug and gently placed the lion back where he found it. “These are so cool. Where’d you get them?”

“I made them,” Keith said as if that was as obvious as the earth being round.

“You _made_ these?”

“Yeah.”

“Yourself?!”

“That’s what me making them means.”

“I know that but… these are so good.”

Keith smiled as he took a sip of his tea. “Thanks.”

“Where’d you learn how to do this?”

“My dad.”

Something about his tone of voice made Lance look at Keith, really look at him. His eyes were staring somewhere far away as he picked up the carving of the dog. “He’s the one who first taught me how to do this with old scraps of wood. I didn’t really like it at first. I was always cutting myself by accident and my pieces looked like crap. I stopped for a while but… now it helps me take my mind off things.”

A million questions swirled in Lance’s brain. Why did Keith have that look when he talked about his dad? What did he need to take his mind off of? How many years had he been doing this to get this good? When did he stop? When did he start again? Why was he so infuriatingly cool?

But instead, Lance mumbled, “So this is what you wanted knives for?”

The burst of laughter was so sudden that Lance took a step back. Keith was gripping onto the side of the window to keep himself upright, he was laughing so hard.

“What?!” Lance asked, a bit miffed.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Keith choked back his laughter. “Did you think I was just some crazy kid who liked playing with knives? Like some kind of serial killer?”

Lance felt his entire face heating up. “Well, no… maybe… But if all you asked for was knives, of course, people are going to think it’s weird!”

“You really thought…” Keith snorted again. “Just what kind of impression did you have of me?”

And as Lance watched Keith desperately trying to hold in his laughter, face contorted into a stupid smile, Lance couldn’t help but to smile back and say under his breath, “The wrong one.”

That sobered Keith up immediately. “What do you mean?”

Lance winced, trying to figure out how to best word this, before finally admitting, “I… I always thought you were just showing off how much smarter you were. And that you thought you were too cool for the rest of us. I didn’t like you very much, honestly.” A flash of hurt crossed Keith’s face, so Lance quickly added, “But now I know I was wrong. You’re… It was never really about you. I just felt kind of inadequate next to you, I guess.”

“Why the hell would you think that?”

“I don’t know!” Lance exclaimed. “You seemed like you did well in school without trying. All the professors like you. Everyone wants to be your friend but you’re always off by yourself seeming like you don’t care if you eat lunch alone, which is what everyone else dreads. Shiro, one of the coolest upperclassmen in the whole school, goes up to you and talks to you all the time. And to top it all off, you’re attractive!” Realizing what he had just said, Lance slapped a hand over his mouth.

A sly grin formed on Keith’s face. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Lance retorted, muffled by his hand.

“Did you just say I was attractive?”

Exhaling sharply, Lance put down his hand. “Yeah, you heard me. It’d be stupid for me to deny it. And you can’t get away with pretending you don’t know it. You can pull off a mullet, so obviously you know you’re a looker.”

“Well, now I know.” His grin softened. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Lance grumbled. “Anyways, it was just me projecting my own stupid insecurities and I realize that now. So what I’m trying to say is…” Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”

The silence that fell over the room was deafening. Too nervous to even attempt to sneak a glimpse of Keith, Lance brought the mug to his lips and blew. As if he could blow away all the awkwardness along with it.

“You’re a pretty cool guy, Lance.”

The mug almost slipped from his hands as Lance cried, “Huh?!”

Keith was absentmindedly adjusting the figurines as he said, “I’m serious. It takes a lot of courage to admit you’re wrong about someone.” He glanced up at him. “And I was wrong about you, too. I thought you were just some overgrown kid, but you’re a lot more thoughtful than I gave you credit for.”

With a sheepish smile, Lance confessed, “Well, you aren’t totally wrong. I _can_ be a kid sometimes.”

“And I can be standoffish, too. It’s not who we are, though.” He lightly punched Lance on the shoulder. “Trust me. You’re cool.”

Lance allowed himself a small smile. “Really?”

Keith returned the smile. “Yeah, really.”

For a few moments, they stood there, basking in this rare moment of understanding, when suddenly an ominous sound came from Lance’s pocket.

“Is… is that the _Jaws_ theme song?”

“Uh, hold on a second.” Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Lance turned around and brought his phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“It’s me, you big doofus. I got out of lab early and noticed your key was still on your desk. Where are you?”

“I’m in Keith’s room. I’ll be home soon.”

“Did you just say you’re in _Keith’s_ room? Oh my f--”

Lance quickly hung up and turned to Keith. “Well, um. Thanks for letting me crash here for a bit. It was fun.”

“Oh. Yeah, no problem.”

Realizing the mug was still in his hand, Lance passed it over. “Sorry, I didn’t get to finish this.”

Keith shrugged as he took it. “Rain check?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” They smiled at each other again.

With a cough, Keith brought his own mug back up to his lips. “So see you in class tomorrow?”

But Lance couldn’t even manage a coherent response because for the first time he was able to see Keith’s mug clearly.

And it was then he knew, he really had been wrong about everything.

* * *

“A fucking hippo mug, Hunk! It was so damn cute. Like this little hippo face on this all gray mug. I can’t believe that he actually just like hippos.”

“I told you so,” Hunk sang as he fished more Hot Cheetos out of the bag with chopsticks.

“I know, I know. You were right. I was wrong.”

“And?”

“And a giant jerk. I told you I already admitted this all to him!”

“But?”

“But I still feel terrible. What should I do?!”

Hunk gave Lance a once-over. “I dunno. What do you want to do?”

In his bed, Lance flipped over and thought about that. What did he want?

He wanted to apologize for getting close to Keith with ulterior motives. He wanted Keith to forgive him and laugh it off with that pretty smile of his. He wanted them to get lunch together. He wanted them to have a million movie marathons together. He wanted them to sit in his room with a mug of tea and talk all day long. He wanted to learn more about Keith’s dad. He wanted Keith to keep thinking he was cool. He wanted to run his fingers through Keith’s hair.

Lance sat so abruptly that Hunk nearly dropped his bag of Cheetos.

“What’s wrong?!”

Lance turned to Hunk, mouth hanging open. “Oh shit.”

* * *

Without so much as a glance at Hunk, Lance stormed back into the room and dumped his shopping bags onto the bed.

“Have a nice trip?”

“Yes.”

Hunk ran his eyes over the bags. “This is your answer.”

“Yup.”

“Hm.”

“What?”

“Well, I mean I’m glad you finally noticed what was going on in that tiny brain of yours.” Lance stuck out his tongue. “But is this really the best idea?”

“Oh, yee of little faith.” Lance settled into his bed and pulled out a pair of scissors. “Don’t underestimate the power of a man with a crush and a bag of felt.”

* * *

“Oooh!! It’s so sparkly!” Allura exclaimed as she pulled out the silver earrings. “I love them! Thank you, Pidge.”

Pidge scrunched up her nose. “How’d you know it was me?!”

Allura pointed at the little green computer chips embedded in the earrings. “I know your handiwork when I see it.”

Smiling, Pidge said, “Okay, fair enough.”

“Next is Keith,” Shiro said, gesturing to his cousin. “Open it up.”

Lance held his breath as Keith unwrapped the box agonizingly slow. He considered bolting out of the room but instead he clenched his fists and waited.

And when he heard a few gasps and giggles throughout the room, Lance knew this was the moment of truth.

Keith gingerly extracted the red stuffed hippo out of the box, face frozen in shock. The others around the room whispered to each other. Was this some sort of prank?

“Oh, it’s adorable!” Allura said, beaming. “What a cute gift. And look it even has little hearts on the bottom of its feet.”

Keith flipped the hippo around and sure enough, the pads of its feet were little hearts.

“This…”

“So who do you think it is?” Shiro asked, not unkindly.

“I…” Keith scanned the room and when his eyes landed on Lance, something seemed to click. “It can’t be…”

That was the last straw for Lance. “I need to pee!” he shouted before bolting out of the room, ignoring Hunk calling after him.

Speeding down the hall, Lance didn’t give himself time to think until he had made it to the bathroom, panting as he leaned against the wall.

Stupid. So stupid. Who wouldn’t be creeped out by such an obviously lovesick gift? It was gross. They had just managed to become sort of friends and now Lance was ruining it all with his dumb feelings. Why did he never think these things through? Keith was probably throwing it out at this very moment.

The sound of the door creaking open made drew Lance’s attention, but the last thing he expected to see was Keith holding a present in one hand and the hippo in the other.

“Lance!”

“Keith?!”

“Why did you run off?”

Lance shrank back against the wall. “I told you I needed to pee.”

“Then why are you huddling against the wall?”

“Uhhh…”

As he was trying to think of some excuse, Keith thrust the other gift towards him. “Here.”

“Wha?”

“This is your Secret Santa gift.” He looked down at the ground. "From me."

"You?!"

"Yes, that's why I was so shocked at first! I couldn't believe we got each other."

A warmth spread in Lance's stomach. "Oh."

"Anyways, here."

“I… You want me to open this here?”

“Yes.”

“Um, okay,” Lance said as he began to tear into the wrapping paper. Opening the box, his eyes bugged out of his head as he looked up to Keith and back to the box.

Inside was a carving of a giant shark biting into a boat.

“This… is so fucking awesome.”

Keith flushed. “No, it’s stupid. You got me this heartfelt toy and I made you this crazy violent sculpture. It’s weird!”

“No, it’s sick.” Lance laughed. “I love it.”

Keith scuffed his shoes on the floor. “You mean it?”

“Yeah… And if we’re talking about creepy, the gift I made takes the cake.”

Keith whipped his head back up. “You _made_ this?"

Lance shrugged. "Yup. Creeped out yet?"

"No! I love it. Hippos are the best. And I love soft things.”

Remembering all the unnecessary pillows in Keith’s room, Lance smirked. “Yeah, I noticed.”

Taking something out of his back pocket, Keith said, “And I noticed this.”

Lance looked at the letter and was certain his entire face was bright red. “Oh god, have you read it yet?”

“No, but I have a feeling I know what it’s going to say.”

“You don’t. Keith, I’m sorry I…”

“You approached me that day after class so you could figure out what I wanted for Secret Santa?”

Lance blinked. “Well, yeah.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “And why is that bad, exactly?”

“Because…” Lance stammered for a moment. “Because I didn’t believe you when you said you like hippos!”

Keith made an amused sound. “Yeah, so what? You went out of your way to get to know me.”

“Only because I was being petty…”

“Are you even listening to yourself? You’re being ridiculous.”

“Shut up.”

Keith groaned. “Will you get it through your thick skull that I’m happy!!”

“You… what?”

Keith squeezed the hippo in his arms. “I’m happy you came up to talk to me. I’m happy you asked me questions and wanted to learn more about me. I’m happy it turned out to be so much easier to talk to you than I realized. I’m happy you were locked out of your room that day. I’m happy that you always look so thrilled to see me. It doesn’t matter what the reason was for all of this. I’m happy it happened.”

Lance put his hands out in front of him as if he could somehow hold back the stream of information that was hitting him like a ton of bricks. “Wait, wait, wait. You… do you like me?”

Keith’s cheeks were beet red now. “Isn’t that obvious?!”

“What about it is obvious? You never seemed excited to hang out with me! And you never took the initiative to invite me to do stuff! And you didn’t even flinch when I said you were attractive!”

“I was embarrassed!”

Jaw hanging open, Lance cried, “Which part of you was embarrassed?!”

“All of me! Every time!”

“Nothing about your face indicates that at all.”

“I’m sorry this is the face I was born with!”

Suddenly the door swung open and they both turned to see a guy, wide-eyed at the bathroom entrance. He looked back and forth between them before backing out of the room slowly.

The two boys left in the bathroom looked at each other then and shared a smile that soon turned into full-out laughter.

“Did you see his face?”

“He was scared shitless.”

“He probably thought he walked into a fight.”

“Or some soap opera.”

As their laughter died down, Lance took a step closer to Keith and ran a hand through the other boy's hair.

“Um, Lance?” Keith squeaked.

“Hm?”

“What are you doing?”

Lance grinned. “Testing it out.”

“Huh?!” Keith said with a frown.

“To see what you look like when you’re embarrassed.”

Keith’s whole face squeezed into a tight pout. “Stop it.”

“Okay, I believe you.”

“Do you really have to test out everything I say before you believe it?”

“Maybe.” And with that Lance brought Keith’s face to his and pressed their lips together. It lasted barely a second, before he backed away, flushed and stammering, “Sorry, I do things without thinking sometimes. I didn’t… Did I make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry I--Woah!”

In the middle of Lance’s rambling, Keith had grabbed onto his shirt and nuzzled himself against it.

“Um?”

“You smell nice.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“And I like when you stroke my hair.”

“Really?”

“Kissing is nice, too.”

“So…”

He snuggled deeper into Lance’s arms. “I’m saying you have nothing to be sorry for.”

After the initial shock wore off, Lance chuckled and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist. “You’re just full of surprises, huh? Who would’ve thought you were so cuddly?”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Lance smiled and leaned in for another kiss. “What do you think?”

**Author's Note:**

> LMAO I TOLD U THEY WERE STUPID. Honestly. So dramatic. And I love Keef who is so bad at expressing his emotions. He's the kind of guy who goes to where he knows his crush is going to be and is like "Oh you were here? I didn't notice." but be secretly squealing inside. And then stares at them longingly until they look back and he has a completely disinterested face.
> 
> And I love impulsive Lance who does things like "THIS IS A GREAT IDEA" and then halfway through is like OH GOD WHY. I mean that's Keith too but Lance is also kind of all over the place. I just love them together. They get into so much idiotic shit.
> 
> P.S. I love Hunk in this he's so #done. And petty. I love petty, know-it-all Hunk. What a good noodle.
> 
> Okay, enough rambling out of me. But let me just say, TWO FICS. IN TWO DAYS. After such a long time of NO FICS?? And two more fics next week??? Honestly, I'm on a roll. It's to make up for a year of nothing lol.


End file.
